Breaches of the ZQ and Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) have been identified following a New Zealand Merino’s (NZM) investigation into two properties identified in confronting covertly-filmed shearing footage.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) recently released footage dating back to 2023 which showed rough handling of sheep.
Peta claimed it was filmed at farms in NZM’s ZQ programme — the world’s first ethical wool production standard.
In a statement yesterday, NZM chief executive Angus Street reiterated much of the footage had been wrongly attributed to ZQ properties.
NZM’s third-party auditor Control Union completed its investigation into two ZQ grower properties identified in the videos and two breaches were identified for each property.
Those breaches related to not meeting expected standards for training and supervision of staff and contractors, minimising stress and animal handling.
Both growers had co-operated fully and had produced clear action plans to prevent future breaches, Mr Street said.
Control Union routinely did spot inspections of NZM’s ZQ grower properties.
Part of the company’s immediate response to the footage release was 52 spot inspections and additional requirements added to the criteria.
From that, 35 corrective actions were issued which Mr Street said was consistent with expectations.
He said the most of the actions involved issues with documentation and record keeping.
A rapid response assessment had been completed by ZQ growers to measure the understanding and effectiveness of current animal welfare protocols.
Growers had expressed willingness to be involved in the development of enhanced monitoring controls, he said.
Yesterday, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) director of compliance and response Glen Burrell said MPI’s investigation into allegations of mistreatment of sheep associated with shearing practices was ongoing, and it continued to speak to a number of people.
